Candidate Q&A: What are the top three issues facing the 22nd District?

What would you do in Congress to solve them?

Oct. 12, 2012

This part 2 of a five-part Q&A with 22nd District candidates for Congress.

Rep. Richard Hanna

The top three issues I hear about are: jobs, better education, and the importance of transparent constituent services.

• Jobs: The government is not responsible for creating jobs directly, but it should foster an environment that encourages growth and leads to new jobs. But we don’t just need any jobs; we need jobs that provide for a middle-class lifestyle and a shot at the American Dream.

I will use what I have learned from 30 years in business to promote an American competitiveness agenda in Congress. I will focus on a national energy policy that lowers prices and makes us more energy independent. I will support reforming the tax code to make it simpler and more attractive for companies to locate here. I will vote for policies that actually lower health care costs, like malpractice liability reform and more competition between insurance companies. Further, I will support a fair trade policy that creates new Southern Tier agriculture and manufacturing jobs by opening new markets to our American, value-added goods.

• Education: As a member of the Education Committee, I am working to streamline the role of government in education, so that limited resources can be dedicated to preparing our students to succeed in today’s economy.

I support replacing the problematic No Child Left Behind law with more flexible policy that provides our school districts, teachers, and parents — those who truly know what’s best for our students — with the tools they need to innovate and thrive.

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To regain national competitiveness, we need to make sure college remains accessible and affordable to all. I am a strong supporter of cultivating a particularly high-value segment of our economy which is reliant on the STEM fields of science, technology, education and math. I introduced legislation to provide a financial incentive for students to pursue higher education in these high-need areas. With great colleges and a history of success in technical industries, upstate is in a position to lead the drive for more STEM education and revitalize our local and national economies.

• Constituent services and transparency: Since taking office last year, my staff and I have assisted more than 2,000 New Yorkers resolve cases with Medicare, Social Security and the Veterans Administration. A motivated representative can cut through red tape and make a real difference in individuals’ lives.

To best serve the new 22nd District, I will open a new fully staffed Constituent Service Center in Binghamton to serve residents, local officials and businesses. I will hold “open door” meetings in Broome and Tioga counties to encourage new constituents to meet directly with me. I will host a small business workshop to provide resources for Southern Tier businesses. I will offer constituents a toll-free number so they can easily connect with my office — a new service not currently available to Binghamton residents.

I am one of only two representatives to explain on Facebook and Twitter about every vote I cast, and I will continue to do this, so constituents know not just how I vote on a bill, but why.

Dan Lamb

When I talk to voters across upstate New York, there is tremendous concern about our very future as a nation. They see an economy that doesn’t work for working people, a struggling middle class, and a rapid increase in wealth for those at the very top. It used to be that a rising tide lifted all boats, but that’s only the case for the big boats today. Productivity is up, corporate profits are up, CEO pay is up and the stock market has doubled in the last four years, yet average people are working harder and being paid less.

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My top priority is restoring the middle class and putting the American dream back in reach. I’ll work to reform our tax code so that average people are no longer asked to pay a higher percentage of their income in taxes than millionaires and billionaires.

I’ll work to strengthen America’s global competitiveness by reforming unfair trade deals that send good-paying jobs abroad, because we’ve lost nearly three million jobs to China in the last decade alone.

I’ll oppose the plan to end Medicare’s guaranteed benefits that Richard Hanna voted for, because independent estimates say it would cost seniors more than $500 every month.

A second priority will be protecting our region from the risks posed by hydraulic fracturing. We’ve heard the stories of contaminated water, fouled air and mishandled waste. History is replete with examples of the oil and gas industry cutting corners. Now more than ever, our region needs a fighter looking out for our long-term interests.

Unlike my opponent, I have been asking the tough questions and working to protect our health, environment and property values. Richard Hanna, on the other hand, isn’t even at the table. He’s got as much as $2 million invested in companies that want fracking to move forward in New York. He maintains one of the worst environmental records in the state, and has supported billions in subsidies for the oil and gas industry.

A third priority for me is to push forward new reforms that will remove the corrosive influence of money from our political system. This year, hundreds of millions of dollars in ads funded by secretive groups that don’t disclose their donors have flooded the public airwaves. My opponent has accepted tens of thousands of dollars from corporate special interests PACs and is benefiting from hundreds of thousands of dollars in advertisements from one industry group alone.

Richard Hanna even used the money he spends on campaign ads to coerce a television station into canceling their coverage of me. He threatened to pull his ads if he didn’t get his way. This ethical lapse confirmed some of the worst suspicions people have regarding the influence of money on the media and in our elections.

Send me to Congress and I’ll fight to clean up our political system, taking control of our elections away from wealthy special interests and putting it back where it belongs: with the people.